Three Rings of Shap - 2014 Report and Results

Results from this year's Event can be downloaded here -

2014 saw the tenth ‘Shap’ which proved to be record breaking in many ways. The weather unusually held fair throughout the Event despite being rather warm and humid during the day. 237 entries and 199 starters was some 30% up on the previous high and tested the gallant support team at times. The team sadly had not increased to match the entry although some 37 members, friends and relatives helped to run the Event during the course of the long weekend. The ninety minutes when crowds filled the Hall on returning from the first Ring was particularly manic. A continuous hot water supply was a boon as teapots could barely be replenished in time to cope with the demand!

Ours is a very special pastime appealing as it does to both young and old. It was great to see local lad Sol Wood on his tenth birthday enjoying Ring 1 with his friends and equally satisfying to welcome a few 70+ stalwarts still able to stay on their feet for more than 24 hours. The middle of the spectrum showcased the hares where both men’s and ladies course records were broken. We were pleased to host a party of ultra runners from Runfurther of whom Kevin Hoult sauntered round in 11 hours 39 minutes to take the record by 2 minutes and Karen Nash in 14 hours 23 minutes some 13 minutes faster than the ladies record.

While admiring and being in awe of their achievements the main thrust of the Event, of course, is supporting the walkers who test themselves against the Challenge and to whom time is often less important. A creditable and record 65 completed all three Rings this being the usual 50%-ish of those who entered for the full Monty. Special mention must go to Phil Musson, the only person to have completed all three Rings in all ten Events and to local boy, Andrew Wood, who has participated in every year.

The only fly in the ointment was the ‘disappearance’ of a participant who could not be accounted for by the recording system. A minor panic ensued for a few hours resulting in Police and Mountain Rescue being mobilised. Fortunately, and as is usually the case, it proved to be an administrative error and he was eventually tracked down before Mountain Rescue was deployed. That apart all went smoothly from the 08.00 start to final vacation of the Hall some 29 hours later.

Thanks to the following for contributing the above photos -

Barrie Blenkinship, Nick Ham and Sally Howarth

LDWA Walks

The LDWA organises many challenge and local group walks, as well as listing many more organised by other organisations. Challenge events are normally between 20 and 100 miles and must generally be completed within a defined time limit. Group walks are normally led walks of around 20 miles.Click here to go to the LDWA website.